Pakistan

Pakistan: Reason for a Glimmer of Optimism?

By Harlan Ullman

Despite a continuing flow of depressing reports from Pakistan about the safety and security of this strategically vital American ally, on the eve of President Asif Ali Zardari’s first anniversary as president, the latest news, at least anecdotally, offers a glimmer of optimism. Predictions of dire outcomes leading to a failed government overthrown by an […]

Shock and Awe in Pakistan

By Harlan Ullman

The apparent elimination of Tehrik-e-Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud two weeks ago in a Predator strike is, on balance, very good news.

Pakistan Nukes Misfire

By Shuja Nawaz

Few issues grab more attention on the global stage today than the safety of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal. The assumption in the West has always been that Pakistan cannot adequately safeguard these weapons and that radical Islamists will grab them, putting Western interests at risk in the region.

How Secure are Pakistan’s Nukes?

By Arnaud de Borchgrave

Is Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal theft-proof? Former President Pervez Musharraf and his successor Asif Ali Zardari and their army and intelligence chiefs repeatedly have assured both the Bush and Obama administrations that their 80-odd nuclear weapons are as secure as the U.S. arsenal of some 7,000 city busters. The Pakistanis have separated warheads from delivery systems […]

Taliban an Unflippable Enemy

By Arnaud de Borchgrave

Geopolitical trendies ran a new one up the international flagpole to see if anyone saluted. It claimed to be the magic formula on “How to Win in Afghanistan.”

Contradictions in Counterinsurgency: U.S. Drone Strikes in the Tribal Areas

By Brendan Boundy

U.S. and Pakistani anti-Taliban operations along the AfPak border are plagued by contradiction, recent reports say.  A counterinsurgency doctrine emphasizing population protection that also relies upon unmanned armed drones will inevitably kill innocents in addition to terrorists.

General Jehangir Karamat Event Transcript

  SHUJA NAWAZ:  Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.  My name is Shuja Nawaz; I’m the director of the South Asia Center at the Atlantic Council.  On behalf of Fred Kempe, the president of the council, I’d like to welcome all of you to our very special ambassadorial discussion today on the challenge of militancy for […]

NATO Should Help in Pakistan

By Leo Michel and Shuja Nawaz

Pakistan needs help.  President Asif Ali Zardari and army chief General Ashfaq Kayani, who were publicly urged last month by Defense Secretary Robert Gates to “recognize the real threats to their country,” have sent a considerable military force to staunch the spreading extremist threat in the Swat region near Afghanistan.

In Pakistan, Great Expectations … As Yet Unfulfilled

By Shuja Nawaz

Last week’s tripartite summit in Washington, D.C. during which President Barack Obama hosted President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan and President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan was a lot like a Chinese meal.

Pakistan: Too Big To Fail

By Jonathan Paris

Hardly a day goes by without reports highlighting Pakistan’s mounting instability or the growing strength of the Taliban inside its troubled borders. From the media and high-profile observers alike, doomsday scenarios abound. U.S. army general David Petraeus has called the Taliban an “existential threat” to the Pakistani state. His adviser on counterinsurgency in Iraq, David […]